“We got the best man for the job,” said Board Chairman Ed McFall. The board conducted a national search and interviews. “There was definitely one outstanding choice. The entire board was present for the interviews and we were all in agreement,” McFall continued.

Gomez, 41, has been an employee of the state Medicaid agency since 2000. In addition to serving as a Deputy CEO, he oversees the Communications, Outreach and Reporting Division which is made up of the Governmental Relations, Reporting & Statistics, Public Information, Child Health and Tribal Relations units. He has also been responsible for legislative communication at the state and congressional levels.

A graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a degree in Journalism and Public Relations, Gomez began his career in public service as a spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation in 1995. In 2000, he joined OHCA as Public Information Officer. In 2005, Gomez was appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives to serve on a state Medicaid reform task force. In 2006, he was named one of OKCBusiness’ “Forty under 40” professionals. He was named as a deputy CEO for the agency in July 2008.

Gomez also has a master’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in health care administration from Southern Nazarene University and has served as an adjunct faculty member for the university teaching Managerial Economics in the same program.

Active in several community organizations, Gomez is an elected board of education member and current board president for Bethany Public Schools. He also serves as a trustee for the Bethany Public School Foundation. Additionally, Gomez coaches his son’s baseball team through the Putnam City Optimists organization.

Gomez will be paid a salary of $152,000 plus incentives which will be voted on by the board at a later date. He will oversee an agency with a total annual budget of $5.13 billion and almost 500 employees.

Current OHCA CEO Mike Fogarty announced his planned retirement at the September 2012 board meeting. Fogarty, who will celebrate his 65th birthday in March, has been with the agency for 18 years.